Wing attaching hull superstructure



July 12, 1938. I. SIKORSKY 2,123,665

WING ATTACHING HULL SUPERSTRUCTURE Filed March 17, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1,

I IN V EN TOR. [EUR 1 511M125 A TTORNE Y y 2 1938. LI. SIKORS'KY 2,123,665

WING ATTACHING HULL SUPERSTRUCTURE Filed March 17, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. [50g 511(0115117 I I ATTORNEY July 12, 1938. 1.1. SIKORS KY WING ATTACHING HULL SUPERSTRUCTURE Filed March 17, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEY Patented July 12,1938 I I 2,123,665

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WING ATTACHING HULL SUPERSTRUCTUBE Igor I. Sikorsky, Trumbull, Conn., assignor to United Aircraft Corporation, East Hartford, Conn, a corporation of Delaware- Application March '17, 1936, Serial No. 69,354

3 Claims. (01. 244-119) This invention relates to improvements in airthe hull and the wing to maintain the hull in its planes and has particular reference to improved normal position with respect to the wing. means for attaching a wing to the hull or fuse- In the drawings the improved wing attaching lage of an airplane. superstructure is shown as applied to a large fly- 5 One of the objects of the invention resides in ing boat having a passenger carrying hull and a 5 .the provision of means for firmly and securely wing disposed at some distance above the hull attaching a hull or fuselage to a wing disposed and provided with nacelles for supporting the above such hull or fuselage in such a manner engines. It is to be understood, however, that that the hull and wing structure will not be subthe subject matter of this invention is not limjected to undue strain. ited to the particular type of aircraft illustrated, 10

An additional objectresides in the provision of but may be applied to land aircraft of various a.hull superstructure body faired and stream types as well as to flying boats or amphibians lined to offer the minimum resistance to the and may also be readily applied to aircraft of progress of the airplane through the air. difierent sizes.

Other objects and advantages will be more Referring to the drawings in detail, the nu- 15 particularly pointed out hereinafter, or will bemeral 0 generally indicates the y portion come apparent as the description proceeds. of an ai c Suc as th hull of a flying b In the accompanying drawings in which like or amphibian and the numeral l2 indicates a reference numerals are used to designate similar single w by which the boat is upported in the parts throughout, there is illustrated a suitable ir- Th Win n h ll are connected y 8 20 mechanical embodiment of what is new 011- superstructure generally indicated at Id. The sidered to be the preferred form of the invention. wing is provided. with One D y. Of The dra ing h are for t purpose of nacelles indicated at I 6 which support motors l8 illustration only and are not to be taken as limitand Propellers 29 propelling e aircraftingthe invention, the scope of which is to be meas- The aircraft s 8150 Provided with an empenage 5 ured entirely bythe scope of t appended claims, 22 which may also be connected to the hull by I thedrawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevationa] means of a suitable superstructure or tower view of a flying boat having the main wing dis- Support posed abov th hull, d n n superstructure As is well-known, considerations of weight are so constructed according to the idea of this invenessential in the construction of a c a t. o tion interposed between the hull and the wing to which reason the various parts of the aircraft operatively connect the hull and wing together. su h as th w s a d hull 0r fu ela e ar mad Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on an enup of a large number of light and relatively weak larged scale of the wing and superstructure, and elements which are so united together as to pro- 5 a fragmentary portion of the hull illustrated in vide an integral structure having the requisite Fig. 1. strength provided excessive forces are not con- Flg. 3 is a cross sectional view on the line 3-3 centrated in any one point of the structure. of Fig. 1 showing in elevation oneof the main These structures also include a few heavy and hull bulkheads and the manner of connecting the relatively strong main frame members which are 40 bulkhead with the wing. adapted to receive localized forces and distribute 40 Fig. 4 is a detail view on an enlarged scale them throughout the structure of the unit of showing the connection between the bulkhead which they are a part. In the aircraft illusand wing as illustrated in Fig. 3. trated, the wing is provided with two main spar Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a fragmembers 26 and 28 which run substantially the mentary port on of the fly oat rate in entire length of the wing and are adapted to 45 Fig. 1 showing the arrangement of bulkheads and distribute the load forces imposed on the wing hull frames by means of which the wing is atthroughcut'the wing structure, The wing also tached to the hull and the forces between the includes various other elements such as ribs, wing and the hull are distributed to the various braces, and stays, but as these elements may be portions of these members. of usual and conventional construction as far as 50 Fig. 6 is a front elevational View of a flying boat the purpose of illustrating this invention is conhaving a hull and a main wing disposed above cemed, they have been omitted from the drawthe hull, a tower support connecting the wing to ings for the sake of clearness. the hull constructed according to the idea of this The hull is provided at 'spacedintervals with invention, and suitable braces extending between rigid transverse bulkheads, two of which are insis above the hull forthe wing and also to distribute .dicated at a and a: to which the stringers, keel the wing is superimposed upon the hall in its proper position the wing spars 28 and 28. will exactly overlie two of the main bulkheads II and 32.

The bulkhead .22 is illustrated in elevation in b Fig. 3. As the bulkhead l. is exactly the same in ,4. and 42. These ribs extend from the respective construction except for slight changes in shape incident to the contour of the hull and wing, an illustration of onlyone of these bulkheads has been considered sumcient for the purpose of this illustration. This bulkhead comprises a substantially U shaped outer member or hull former 28 to. the ends of which are connected the bottom ribs ends of the outer member 28 to the bottom of the keel 44. Spaced above the bottom ribs 40 and 42, and extending entirely across the bulkhead, is a deck beam 44 which'is preferably constructed in one unitary piece, although it may be made up of separate portions suitably secured together. Between the deck beam 4 and the bottom ribs there isa system of diagonal bracing generally indicated at 44. The deck beam 46 is connected at its ends to the legs of the U shaped hull former 28 somewhat above the ends thereof and is attached at its center to the top of the keel 44. From this construction it will be observed that the deck beam, the bottom ribs, the keel, and the diagonal braces 48, form a rigid truss structure in the lower part of the hull.

Above the deck beam 46 the bulkhead is provided with vertical members 50 and 52 and horizontal members-54, 56, 58, 60, 42,64, and 68, which lower truss structure and also provide supports.

for the partition material by means of which the bulkheads divide the hull up into a series of separate compartments. These vertical and horizonbacks, berths and other equipment installed in the aircraft. At their intersections the members are-secured together by suitable means such as the gusset plates 64.

A door opening III is provided in the central portion of the bulkhead and is bounded by vertical members I2 and curved upper and lower members l4 and I6, the upper ends of the vertical member I2 and the upper portion of the curved member 14 being connected to the horizontal member 46 positioned above the door opening.

A pair of relatively heavy brace members 18 and '40. extend diagonally across the opposite halves of the bulkhead and have their lower ends disposed adjacent to the point of intersection of the deck beams 46 with the legs of the outer member 24. and their upper ends terminating at a point above the hull in line with the center line 1 of the bulkhead. These brace members It and constitute an A frame extending across and above the bulkhead to provide an attachment point -the load between the wing and the hull to the various component frame members of the bulkhead and from the bulkhead to the keel andvother structural parts of the hull in substantially equal I degree. The frame members are rigidly attached to the bulkhead members by suitable means such as the gusset plates 82 and may be provided in the space which they include above the upper surface of the hull with an additional framework 84 saddle member is-connected by means of the side aiaaeec to further increase their rigidity. Each of the brace members Iland 80. comprise a pair of angle irons disposed one upon each side of the bulkhead and at their upper ends including between them the web portion of a flange plate illustrated at It in Fig. 4. This flange plate 86 is provided with horizontally extending flanges 84 which are secured by means of the bolts 94 to the lower flanges 92 of the wing spar 28. Particularly where the wing carries the engines as in the aircraft illus- 1 trated, the joint between the flange plate 86 and.

the spar is preferably made somewhat resilient,

by the inclusion of resilient spacer members 14 between the flange 88 and the spar flanges and resilient spacer members 98 between the upper 1 surfaces of the spar flanges and pressure plates "against which the heads of the bolts 90 bear.

This resilient construction serves to reduce the transmission of engine noises andvibrations from the wing to the hull. The connection is continued from the lower spar member to the upper spar member by means of a U, shaped saddle plate-I44 which overlies and is connected to the upper ends of the tension brace members 18 and 84. This plates I02 to a vertical brace member I04 which extends between the upper and lower members of the spar. The connnection is also made secure to the diagonal spar braces I08 by means of gusset plates I" which are secured to the lower spar member, the vertical brace member I04 and the diagonal brace members 108. It will be observed that the above construction provides a strong and durable, and slightly resilient connection transmitting the load of the weight of the hull to the wing spar. The bulkhead member 28 is similar in construction to the bulkhead 22 and is connected to the front wing spar 26 in a similar manner.

Between the main bulkheads as indicated at 20 and 22 are light hull frame members 24 and 34 which-assist in maintaining the hull against distortion and which are also connected at their upper ends to the undersurface of the wing by means, of frame extensions III which are connected to a substantially horizontal member II2 which extends between the connections. between the bulkheads 3. and 32 and-the wing spars-28 and 28. I

The super-structure is faired by means of'a plurality of horizontal rib members H4 having, in plan view an airfoil section, attached to the A frame members of the bulkheads and hull frames and substantially equally spaced from each other in. the space between the top of the hull and the bottom of .the wing. These horizontal frame or rib members are preferably interconnected by vertical rib members as indicated at Hi to provide in the space between the top of the hull and the bottom of the wing a tower of stream lined form. I

The tower frame is covered by a faired covering or skin II8 suitably curved as indicated at I20 and I22 'to make smooth joints with the top of the hull and the bottom'of the wing. This tower covering is Preferably separate from the r so a covering of the hull and wing. and is'secured 65 to the hull by suitable means such as the rivets I24 illustrated in Fig. 2. If desired, a door as indicated at- I26 may be provided in one side of to the respective 5 Patent is as follows.

and described above,

- tional struts as transmitting the loads acting between the hull and wing and distributing such loads through the hull and wing structure in such a manner as to prevent localized stresses at any one point except those points which are specially reinforced to carry such stresses.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings the tower support attaches the hull to the center of the wing with a connection sufllciently strong to support the weight of the hull upon the wing with a reasonable factor of safety. As this connection extends for, only a short distance longitudinally of the wing-it has been considered desirable to provide additional stays or braces to relieve this load carrying support of twisting stresses due to any tendency of the hull to swing or rotate relative to the wing. Suitable braces for this purpose are illustrated in Fig. 6 and indicated by the numeral I28. The braces I28 illustrated, are the front braces and extend from a position adjacent to the bottom of the hull to a position approximately one quarter of the wing span from the center support on each side. These braces are rigidly secured at the hull end to the adjacent bulkhead frame illustrated in Fig. 3 and at their outer ends, by means of pairs of angular struts I30 and I32, to the wing spar. Only one brace on each side is illustrated in Fig. 6, but it is understood that there is a similar brace immediately behind the brace I28 which connects the rear bulkhead forming a part or the hull superstructure'to the rear wing spar. These braces may be reinforced by addiindicated at I34 extending from substantially the mid-point of the brace upwardly wing spar. These two sets of braces which comprise two main braces upon each side of the hull and auxiliary struts and wires for reinforcing the main braces, transmit substantially all of the side or twisting loads from the hull to the wing spars and relieve the superstructure attachments from carrying any material part of such loads.

While there has been illustrated and described a particular mechanical embodiment of the idea of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular form so illustrated and described, but that such changes in the size, shape, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to as come within the scope of the sub-joined claims.

' Having now described the invention so that others skilled in the art may clearly understand the same, what it is desired to secure by Letters what is claimed is:

1. In an aircraft having a body portion provided with spaced transverse bulkheads, and a wing disposed above said body portion and provided with spaced longitudinal spars, means for operatively connecting said body portion and sai wing together and distributing the load n between said wing and said body portion through the structure of each, said means comprising, a

aligned with respective wing spars, said diagonal tension members each comprising a pair of angle irons disposed one on each side of said bulkheads and extending to a common point above said bulkhead to form frames for attaching said body p0r-= tion to said wing, and a reinforced connection between the upper end of each frame and the respective wing spar.

2. In an aircraft having a body portion provided with spaced transverse bulkheads, and a wing disposed above said body portion and provided with spaced longitudinal spars, means for operatively connecting said body portion and said wing together and distributing the load stresses between said wing and said body portion through the structure of each, said means comprising, a

. pair of diagonal tension members disposed across the opposite halves of each of the bulkheadstension members each comprising a pair of angle irons disposed one on each side of said bulkheads and extending to a common point above said bulkhead to form frames for attaching said body portion to said wing, and a reinforced connection between the upper end of each frame and the respective wing spar, said connection comprising, a flange plate having a web portion disposed and secured to the angle irons of each frame and a flange portion secured to the lower flange of said wing spar.

3. In an aircraft having a body portion provided with spaced transverse bulkheads, and a wing disposed above said body portion and provided with spaced longitudinal spars, means for operatively connecting said body portion and said wing together and distributing the load stresses between said wing and said body portion through the structure of each, said means comprising, a pair of "diagonal tension members disposed across the opposite halves of each of the bulkheads aligned with respective wing spars, said diagonal tension members each comprising a pair of angle irons disposed one on each side of said bulkheads and extending to a common point above said bulkhead to form frames for attaching said body portion to said wing, and a reinforced connection between the upper end of each frame and the respective wing spar, said connection comprising, a flange plate havingv a. web portion disposed between and secured'to the angle irons or each frame and a flange portion secured to the lower flange of said wing spar, a saddle plate secured to the upper end of each of said frames and means connecting said saddle plate with the upper rail and with the diagonal bracing of said wing IGOR-I. SI KORSKY. 

